I liked living in the world of this book. For a novel that centers around a violent attack, the mood of the book was surprisingly gentle and introspective. The story features three teenage siblings as they process the experience of finding the victim of a violent crime in a field near their house. Of the three perspectives, I appreciated Duncan's point of view for his highly attuned artist's sense of observation.

Margot Livesey has been one of my all-time, always-read authors for a long time. I was thrilled to get the chance to read this new one and it didn't disappoint! I loved how, when it opens, you think the story is going to go in one direction (the direction of the dead boy) but it goes the other way. I thought it was a nearly perfect (and perfectly short) novel.

I was so looking forward to this book, mostly because Margot Livesey wrote The Flight of Gemma Hardy, which I read and ADORED back in college. I’ll say this — I liked this book. It was interesting, but it wasn’t what I was hoping for, mostly because I’m not sure I’m sophisticated enough to really get it. I think this story will play to the literary fiction-loving crowd, but a blurb on the back called it a psychological drama, which didn’t pan out for me. What I liked was the characters: three siblings, all navigating young adulthood and major life events, each uniquely crafted and with nuanced perspectives. This was a quiet book, and quick too, but it just wasn’t in my wheelhouse enough to be a book I loved. If you like books like The Dutch House, you might like this one too.

While somewhat atypical of Livesey The Boy in the Field is a gripping read as adolescents begin to realize that the world around them is more complicated than they imagined. The main characters are engaging and while I’m. It a fan of “coming of age” books  there is something  reverent in the way Livesey treats this phase of life and family dynamics.